The Cult of Osiris

by Andy McDermott

  Shoot him!' Shaban barked.

  Lorenz raised the gun - and Eddie hit the struggling pilot again, twisting him into the line of fire. The Dutchman swore, trying to aim round him—

  Eddie yanked back the cyclic stick.

  The chopper's nose tipped up sharply, throwing everyone backwards. Alarms honked and buzzed: stall warnings. The EC130 was now flying backwards - and descending rapidly, the rotor blades' steep angle not generating enough lift to maintain height.

  In the corner of his eye, Eddie saw the pyramid approaching fast—

  He released the stick. The pilot slammed it forward and jammed down a rudder pedal in a desperate attempt to regain control before the helicopter smashed into the pyramid. The EC130 pitched forward, spinning. Centrifugal force threw Eddie outwards, only his grip on the pilot keeping him in the aircraft.

  He clawed for another handhold - the buckle of the pilot's harness.

  His thumb pushed down on the release.

  The pilot let out a choked scream of fear as the belts popped free. The only thing now keeping him in his seat was his grip on the controls. The pyramid whirled past, the Eurocopter's tail sweeping barely a foot from the dark glass.

  Take it down!' Eddie roared. 'Now!'

  Take us up!' Shaban bellowed. He unfastened his own seat belt, leaning across the cabin to pull Eddie's arm off the pilot—

  Macy slammed her elbow into the Egyptian's face. He jerked back, headdress flying off.

  Lorenz pointed the gun at Macy—

  Eddie grabbed the controls again.

  Horrified, Nina watched as the helicopter reeled drunkenly back behind the pyramid, losing height. 'Oh, my GodIT

  Grant stood, rubbing his throat. 'Whoa, I wouldn't want to be in that. Where's Eddie?'

  She gave him an anguished look. 'Where do you think?

  The van sped past and skidded to a halt, the Shogun following. Assad jumped out of the latter as his troops deployed, glancing questioningly at the now-unconscious guard. 'Dr Wilde! Where's the zodiac?

  She pointed at the keep. Third floor - but listen, the cultists ore oil trapped in the pyramid! You've got to keep them there until the authorities arrive. If any of them escape with the spores . . .'

  Assad was torn, but reluctantly nodded. I'll split the ASPS into two teams, one for the zodiac, the other for—' The helicopter wobbled back into view, still spinning. What in

  Allah's name?'

  Shaban's aboard - and so are Eddie and Macy!' The EC13G dropped behind the pyramid once more. Nina stared helplessly after it - then jumped into the empty Shogun.

  Dr Wilde, wait - stop!' Assad cried as the Mitsubishi peeled away after the helicopter, Nina not even bothering to close the door. 'Not again!'

  The Eurocopter was only twenty feet above the courtyard, the pilot unable to increase power as he clung by his fingertips to the collective control lever between the front seats.

  Eddie kept his fearsome grip round the man's neck. His grab at the controls had stopped Lorenz from shooting Macy, but the Dutchman was recovering from the dizzying spin.

  As was Shaban. Macy tried to hit him again, but he twisted her arm upwards and back. There was a popping crackle from her shoulder, and she screamed. The Egyptian shoved her against the door. She moaned in pain.

  Another clack of a seat belt buckle, and Lorenz leaned forward, pointing the gun round the pilot for a clear shot. Eddie grabbed the weapon with his free hand, trying to aim it away from himself.

  Both men's hands trembled as they fought to overpower the other, but Lorenz had more leverage. Grunting with effort, Eddie brought one foot up off the skid and into the cabin, forcing himself inside.

  The shuddering gun pointed towards the pilot. If Lorenz fired, he would be signing his own death warrant. Eddie pushed harder—

  Eyes blazing with hatred, Shaban lunged forward and smashed a fist into his face. Eddie toppled backwards, losing his grip on the gun . . . and the pilot.

  He fell—and slammed painfully against the skid. His foot was tangled in the seat belt. Dangling upside down, he was less than ten feet above the ground - and the helicopter was still dropping, about to crush him!

  Nina slewed the Shogun round the corner of the pyramid - and saw the helicopter ahead, still spinning, losing height—

  Coming right at her.

  Shit!' she shrieked, stamping on the brake and diving out of the open door as the EC130 whirled like a sycamore seed at the 4x4—

  The gasping pilot sat up - and flinched in shock as he realised how close he was to the ground. Jamming down the other rudder pedal, to counter the spin, he twisted the throttle to increase power.

  Eddie's outstretched hands scraped the ground - then the helicopter levelled out. He saw Nina sprawled beside the ASPS' second 4x4 as he was whisked past.

  The Shogun—

  Nina jumped up. 'Eddie!' she yelled as the chopper steadied, hovering above the courtyard. The winch!' he shouted back. 'Chuck it to me!' What?'

  He jabbed both hands at the Mitsubishi's front end. 'The winch, the cable1. Throw it!

  The 4x4 had a winch system affixed to its front bumper, a hundred and fifty feet of steel cable with a hook at the end. She ran to it as the EC130 drifted back towards her. Pulling the

  release lever to let the spool turn freely, she grabbed the hook with one hand and tugged out a length of cable with the other.

  Get us out of here!' Shaban snapped. The pilot applied more power. The helicopter rose again.

  Nina looked up at Eddie as he swept past. Their eyes met.

  She didn't know if she had pulled out enough cable, but it was the only chance she had to save him.

  He stretched out his hands.

  She hurled the hook with every fibre of her strength.

  The line arced towards him, whipping in the downdraft. He stretched out, grabbed— Caught.

  His forefinger closed round the very tip of the hook. He pulled it up, getting a grip with both hands—

  The cable reached the limit of the slack Nina had drawn out. It pulled tight, the spool whining as more line was unwound.

  It spun faster. She looked up. The helicopter was ascending ever faster.

  Straining, foot twisting in the tangled seat belt, Eddie bent at the waist. He couldn't quite reach the skid. With a roar he pulled harder, crunching his body, but the tension of the cable stopped him short.

  The pilot briefly took his hand off the cyclic to close his door, but something obstructed it. Hand back on the stick, he glanced at the straining harness beside his seat. 'He's still here!'

  Lorenz!' Shaban snapped. 'Lean out and shoot him!

  Lorenz looked back uncertainly. Lean out?'

  He's hanging from the skid! Shoot under us!' He stabbed an angry finger at the floor The Dutchman looked more dubious than ever, but obediently turned to take a firm grip on one of his seat belt straps before unlatching his door.

  Nina looked frantically between the helicopter and the winch. The cable had almost run out.

  Lorenz pushed the door open and leaned out, craning his neck to get a view under the EC130's fuselage. He spotted the flailing figure on the other side of the aircraft and moved out further, taking aim.

  Eddie made one final desperate lunge as Lorenz fixed him in his gunsights— The hook caught on the skid.

  A split second later, the cable reached the end of its reel.

  Nina leapt back as the Mitsubishi jumped violently. Above, the slamming jolt as the rapidly ascending helicopter came to an abrupt stop flung Shaban and the pilot upwards, the latter smacking his head on the canopy. Macy, strapped in, cried out as she was thrown against her restraints.

  For the two men outside the cabin, the effects were more extreme.

  Eddie, a moment earlier struggling to reach the skid, was suddenly hurled up against it. On pure instinct, he wrapped his arms round the metal tube, clinging to it.

  Lorenz was less lucky, his gun hand catching the edge of the door frame and knocking the pist
ol back into the cabin as he was thrown upwards—

  His head clipped the rotor blades.

  Red and grey sprayed across the windscreen, then he fell, the top of his skull missing in a neat line just above his eyes. The tumbling body smashed on the unyielding stone a hundred and fifty feet below.

  The dazed pilot slumped against the instrument console, the cyclic stick pushed under him. The helicopter slewed sideways towards the pyramid, trapped on the cable like a hooked marlin leaping from the sea.

  Nina yelped and jumped out of the way as the 4x4 followed it. The Eurocopter didn't have enough power to lift the two-and-a-half-ton Shogun - but it could drag it.

  Eddie pulled up his free leg and hooked it round the skid. A glance down: the chopper was over the pyramid, heading for the shaft of light stabbing skywards from its summit.

  He shook his foot free of the seat belt, then hauled himself on top of the skid. A look through the window revealed the pilot, groggily sitting upright, and Macy behind him. Her face was contorted in pain as she clutched one shoulder.

  Shaban was bent over beside her, reaching for something in the footwell. At first Eddie thought he was trying to retrieve the spore canister - then he spotted the steel cylinder on the empty seat next to the Egyptian.

  He realised what Shaban was after just as the other man found it and snapped upright, pointing the gun at Eddie—

  Macy hit his arm as he pulled the trigger.

  The side windows were obscured by a burst of gore as the bullet hit the pilot's head at point-blank range, blowing out half his skull. His body spasmed, kicking down hard on one rudder pedak The helicopter went into a violent spin.

  The pilot's door swung open. Eddie dragged himself inside, climbing over the corpse. Shaban had been thrown over to the cabin's opposite side. Gun still in one hand, he clawed for a handhold with the other.

  A blinding light filled the cockpit as the helicopter whirled through the pyramid's beam. Eddie screwed up his eyes, dazzled for the briefest moment.

  The flash faded - to reveal Shaban's gun pointing right at his face—

  Below, the Mitsubishi crashed through the pyramid's glass side - and the cable snagged on the structure's steel frame. The impact tossed Eddie into the empty front seat and flung Shaban against the door.

  It burst open.

  The fury in his eyes replaced by fear, Shaban clawed at the door frame. The gun went off in his hand, the shot punching a hole in the rear bulkhead. He dropped the weapon to get a firmer handhold. It spun down to the pyramid below.

  Warning buzzers rasped urgently from the console, red lights flashing. Eddie's gaze flicked to them to see one gauge dropping rapidly. Oil pressure. The bullet had damaged the engine.

  The EC 130 jolted again, straining against the cable. The canister rolled across the rear seats. Eddie and Shaban both looked at it, then each other.

  Save it, or destroy it—

  Eddie scrambled over the seat as Shaban dragged himself back inside. The cult leader reached the canister first, whipping it up by its handle and catching Eddie a vicious blow on his temple. Another silent explosion of light filled the cabin as the helicopter whirled back through the beam, unable to tear free of its vehicular anchor.

  Shaban clutched the cylinder to his chest, kicking at Eddie. 'You are nothing1.' he screamed. You can't beat me! I'm a god

  If you're a god,' Eddie snarled, seeing the other man gripping the door frame, knuckles white, 'let's see if you can fly!'

  He punched Shaban's hand with all his might.

  Pain erupted in Eddie's fingers, skin splitting and joints crunching - but it was nothing to what Shaban felt as his hand was crushed against the hard-edged metal. The longest bone of his middle finger snapped. With a scream, he let go - and Eddie drove his bloodied fist into the Egyptian's scarred face.

  The Eurocopter swayed back into the dazzling beam . . . and Shaban fell.

  Still clutching the canister, he plunged almost seventy feet down the blinding shaft of light -and hit the pyramid's peak with a spine-splintering crack.

  Eddie stared down at the splayed figure now blocking the beam, the tip of the summit poking up through his stomach. 'Get the point?' he yelled.

  But Shaban wasn't quite dead.

  Blood streaming from the massive wound where he was impaled, he still had just enough strength to raise one hand as he tried to open the container - and scatter its deadly contents into the wind.

  Eddie was no longer watching - the increasingly noisy warnings from the console had captured his attention. The oil pressure gauge was in the red, dropping rapidly. The engine was about to fail.

  Wincing at the pain in his hand, he slid back across the cabin. 'Macy! You okay?'

  He - pulled my damn shoulder out,' she said through clenched teeth. Can you land this thing?'

  Nope.'

  What? But - but I thought you were some kick-ass super soldierf You mean you can't fly a helicopter?

  I keep meaning to learn,' he replied, releasing her harness, then reaching over her to open the door.

  She gaped at him. 'What're you doing?' 'We'll have to jump/ 'But we're miles up!'

  Not for long.' The klaxons were overpowered by a grinding from the engine compartment. When I tell you to—'

  The driveshaft sheared apart. Broken metal clanged against the bulkhead like hailstones. The helicopter fell.

  Jump! Jump! Jump!' Eddie roared. The rotor was still turning, slowing the fall - but with no power and no pilot, the EC130's death plunge would only last a few seconds. He shoved the shrieking Macy out and leapt after her.

  They dropped, ten feet, twenty—

  And hit the pyramid's sloping side.

  The toughened glass cracked - but didn't break. Every nerve on fire from the hard landing, Eddie slithered down the structure, Macy tumbling alongside him.

  Shaban turned the lid, needing only one more small movement to open the container . . .

  And froze as his pain-dulled eyes saw the helicopter plunging at him.

  He screamed—

  The EC130 slammed down on top of the pyramid - and continued through it, falling into the laboratory amidst pulverised glass and shredded metal. It hit the floor and exploded, a searing shockwave pounding through the chamber.

  Reaching the hidden C-4.

  The explosive detonated, ripping apart the gas tank. The lab was consumed by a colossal wave of fire, the entire top third of the pyramid blowing apart like the eruption of a glass volcano.

  Eddie and Macy were already over halfway down. Below, Eddie saw Nina running from the blast, the Mitsubishi half buried in the wall—

  Jump!' he cried.

  Despite her pain, Macy managed to slam her heels against the glass as Eddie did the same. He went left, she went right, passing on each side of the Shogun—

  They hit the ground.

  More pain exploded in Eddie's legs as he rolled and bounced across the courtyard. He heard Macy scream again and threw himself at her, shielding her against the rain of glass with his body. More windows shattered as flying debris arced down.

  The noise faded.

  Bruised and bleeding, Eddie raised his head, wincing at the pain throughout his body. The pyramid's top had gone, swallowed by boiling flames. The deadly spores were destroyed.

  Eddie!' More pain as he looked round, but it was slightly soothed by the sight of Nina running towards him. 'Jesus! Are you okay?'

  I'll tell you when I work out if my legs are still attached,' he rasped. 'Macy, you all right?'

  No,' she said, very quietly. Nina and Eddie shared a worried look. 'But ... I think I will be. Eventually.'

  Eddie tried to laugh, but it turned into a cough. 'Another fucking exploding helicopter. Feels like I'm in one of Grant's movies. Is he okay?'

  Looks like it,' said Nina, seeing the actor rounding the pyramid with Assad and one of the ASPS. She waved, then looked up at the building's burning summit. 'That's one way to take care of a yeast infection. Kind of over
kill, but looks like it worked.'

  Bloody well better have,' Eddie grumbled, lifting himself off Macy. A pack of C-4 and a chopper blowing up? Anything in there ought to be toast.

  Nina raised her eyebrows. Oh . . .'

  What?'

  I just realised. You took out Shaban's spores . . . but you also toasted the bread of Osiris. The source of eternal life.' She pondered that for a moment. Still, who wants to live for ever?'

  Eddie staggered upright and put his arm round her. 'Depends who you're living with.'

  Epilogue

  339

  New York City: Three Weeks Later

  Nina gazed up at the dark glass slab of the UN's Secretariat Building as she stepped from the limo. Unlike her last visit, she had no feelings of trepidation. Quite the opposite. This time, she and Eddie were there to be honoured.

  The ceremony had come about thanks to the Egyptian government. The discovery of a pyramid in the Western Desert - and the revelation that it contained the tomb of Osiris himself, turning studies of the country 's ancient mythology on their head - meant that Egyptology would become the hottest field of archaeology for the next several years. At the very least, the tourist trade was about to see a huge boom

  So the Egyptians had petitioned the UN to recognise Nina and Eddie's achievement in uncovering the Pyramid of Osiris ... as well as their role in stopping Shaban.

  There was a distinct irony, Nina thought, to the fact that her interactions with the IHA had come full circle. The agency had been established in large part to keep the truth about attempted murder on an unimaginable scale from the public; now, the same organisation that had summarily dismissed her eight months earlier was forced to grovel for her co-operation in the investigation of another genocidal scheme.

  Despite this, she still hesitated at the entrance. 'You okay?' Eddie asked.

  'Yeah. It's just ... the last two times I came to the UN, I got torn a new one by Maureen Rothschild.'

  'The only thing she'll be doing to your arse today is kissing it,' he assured her. 'Good point,' said Nina, grinning. 'Would it be bad manners if I really rubbed it in that I was right and she was wrong?'

  'Probably. But I say bollocks to manners'' Nina kissed him, and then they went inside.